Man pleads guilty to crashing car into Lima's Sharon Dairy King

LIMA — The man who crashed his car through the Sharon Dairy King in 2012 will face up to three years in prison when he is sentenced in July.

Jonathan Michael Taylor, 18, pleaded guilty to vandalism Friday, a third-degree felony. Taylor must pay $1,708 restitution, including $500 to Dairy King owner Tim Swick and $1,208 to American Township for the damaged guardrail.

Sentencing is scheduled for July 2.

Taylor also may face a lawsuit from Swick’s insurance company. Altogether, the damage to the business approached $250,000, said Jennifer King, an assistant Allen County prosecutor.

Taylor crashed his car Nov. 12 into the ice cream restaurant in what a deputy said may have been a suicide attempt. The restaurant is across from the vacant American Mall on West Elm Street.

Taylor caught the guardrail on the front of his car, plowing down most of the rear and inside of the restaurant. He told a deputy he intentionally was driving about 90 mph.

Taylor was trapped inside the car following the crash; rescue workers freed him.